Throughout history and prior to the mid 1990's, it was universally recognized that fresh sliced apple wedges would begin to turn brown within a few minutes of slicing. Consequently, fresh apples have always been sold in whole form and sliced in the home or restaurant just before use. The exceptions are the processors who slice apples for pie filling, dehydrated and canned fruit. Apples sliced toward these purposes do not require the scrutiny that a consumer would give to fresh-slice consumption. Consequently, the prior art of apple coring and slicing has focused on speed rather than accuracy, permitting “allowable” levels of bruising, or otherwise damaging of the fruit. Near perfect slicing with little or no bruising was perceived as unnecessary.
Breakthroughs in enzyme research during the 1990's have produced a solution for keeping apple slices from turning brown. This has created consumer demand for sliced apples for fresh consumption and greater consumer scrutiny of the product. However, existing equipment can not meet the demand for this higher level of apple-slice quality. Current machinery uses mechanical grippers, pins, conveyers, agitators and other similar means to orient apples, hold them during slicing or peeling, transfer them from station to station, and cut away at their seed pods and skins.
Although prior inventions have attempted to accomplish “careful handling” of fruit in the slicing process, they all fall short of their objectives. Examples are as follows:
1) Some prior art devices attempt to orient the apple using locators in the blossom and stem holes, but thereafter transfer the apple through successive stations where that registration is lost. The stations where the “orientation” occurs are not the stations where the slicing and related processes occur; 2) Machines that mechanically remove the core from the middle of the apple fail to recognize that the core of the apple is not always in the geometric center of its equator, or in the center of gravity of the apple. The core is more typically in line between the stem hole and the calyx; but even then the axis formed by the stem hole and calyx is often enough not an axis through the center of gravity of the apple. As a result of these problems, the prior art machines do not consistently and accurately remove the entire core with a minimum of damage and lost fruit; 3) Prior devices “grab” or grasp the outside of the apple mechanically, which bruises the apple, causing discoloration, change of flavor and more rapid decay. Bruises from pressure will turn brown even with enzyme treatment; 4) Nibbling away at the core or trepanning or machining or spiral cutting the core of the apple causes abrasion which also causes browning in spite of enzyme treatment; and 5) Any tearing action (as opposed to cutting) breaks up the cell structure of the apple meat and causes browning and unsightly and unappetizing rough surfaces.